[Deleted]

1) I have seen a written somewhere that after 6 months of driving I must exchange my license to a Spanish license or get my license engraved with a spanish symbol.  yes you have to change over
2) If the 6 month rule applies and I changed my license to a Spanish one, if I ever had to move back to the UK how easy is it to transfer your license back into a UK License.  your uk license is all was there unless you have DUI , Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol and same from the UK
3) Is it illegal in Spain to not have insurance on a car. Someone said to me yes and someone no.  , will i wont drive unless i had insurance and yes you need it
think if you crash whos payying , fack only few hunder a year

European Citizens do not have to exchange their licence for a Spanish one.
Of course you need insurance for your car, a big fine if you haven’t got it, however the new law says you do not now need to carry the receipt for this in the car anymore, as the Guardia have a central database.

aquaman - 30 November 2008 10:02 PM

European Citizens do not have to exchange their licence for a Spanish one.
Of course you need insurance for your car, a big fine if you haven’t got it, however the new law says you do not now need to carry the receipt for this in the car anymore, as the Guardia have a central database.

There is I believe an issue of validity here, related to age, the Spanish real decreto accepts the validity of the EU Licence and this does not have to be registered ( Except on a voluntary basis), However under the EU directive the licence is subject to individual state requirements, and this means in Spain, that over 45 years of age you need a medical every five years to maintain licence validity.

Has any of our legal types have any clear understanding how this would apply, or in fact how it is administered, an of course there is also the issue then on validity of insurance if not fully compliant under this requirement!

It is important to remember that if you are a resident in Spain and driving on a UK licence then it MUST be the ID card type and remember they have an expiry date of 10 years after issue.

How anyone thinks they can drive without insurance is beyond me! and it fact it is treated very seriously by the Guardia.

I also get the impression the first poster has not taken out residency - another issue that I feel they may be confused over.

abage22 - 30 November 2008 06:48 AM

Hi,

I have lived in Spain now for 3 months and I have a full UK Driving License. I am currently insured to drive a Spanish car in Spain however I have a few queries which I am trying to find the answer to:

1) I have seen a written somewhere that after 6 months of driving I must exchange my license to a Spanish license or get my license engraved with a spanish symbol.
2) If the 6 month rule applies and I changed my license to a Spanish one, if I ever had to move back to the UK how easy is it to transfer your license back into a UK License.
2) Is it illegal in Spain to not have insurance on a car. Someone said to me yes and someone no.

Note: I do not have Spanish residency due to being in the EU.

Thanks!

1- if you are PERMANENT RESIDENT IN ANY EU COUNTRY in compliance with EU laws you have to change plates after 6 months of residency. Your driving licence (in your case the UK one) is valid until it expires. Being a permanent resident you’d receive a notice by Spanish Traffic Authorities 3 months before expiration, explaining what to do to renew your licence. Being a permanent resident in Spain your UK licence would be changed to a Spanish one.

3- yes, it’s illegal to not have a car insurance in Spain: depending on the case, you might even end up in jail (traffic laws have been recently modified). Again, the plate/insurance problems are strictly connected. To get a Spanish insurance, you need Spanish plates. Being a ‘EU visitor’ and not a permanent resident, you can keep your UK plates, together with your current UK insurance. Since 2003 or 2004 you don’t even need the ‘green card’ inside EU; your UK insurance is valid in any EU Country.

aquaman - 30 November 2008 10:02 PM

European Citizens do not have to exchange their licence for a Spanish one.
Of course you need insurance for your car, a big fine if you haven’t got it, however the new law says you do not now need to carry the receipt for this in the car anymore, as the Guardia have a central database.

Can you please tell me where you red that?  :wow:

I recently got caugh in a Police control and since I hadn’t the last receipt of my insurance but only the previous ones, the Police officer gave me 48 hours to go to Police station with copy of the last receipt proving my car was insured. He was kind enough not to give me a fine, and I didn’t loose points for this. If you’re right, in case it happens again I might avoid to loose an awful lot of time ...  😊